Noam Murro to direct 300: Battle of Artemisia

July 16, 2011 - By Liam Goodwin

Last month we heard that Noam Murro and Jaume Collet-Serra were in contention to direct 300: Battle of Artemisia (formally known as Xerxes), the prequel to 300 Zack Snyder and Frank Miller have been working on for the past few years.

Earlier today Warner Bros. entered talks with Jaume Collet-Serra to direct their live-action adaptation of anime graphic novel Akira , so that has left the studio the option of offering 300: Battle of Artemisia to Noam Murro.

According to Heat Vision “an official offer to Murro is expected to be made early next week.” Murro’s only movie to date is Sarah Jessica Parker’s 2008 rom-com Smart People, but he was also behind the recent campaign for the Halo video game. Plus he is a five time DGA nominated commercials director and won two Golden Lions at Cannes. 20th Century Fox also hired him last year to develop Die Hard 5.

300: Battle of Artemisia is based on Frank Miller’s upcoming graphic novel that takes Xerxes, the Persian leader who is an antagonist in 300, and turns him into more of a pivotal figure. He’s a man in search of godhood after the death of his father, battling an Athenian warlord named Themistocles. The story takes place over the course of several years, but the focal point is the battle of Artemisium, which occured in 480 BC.